Corrosion of Bare and Galvanized Mild Steel in Arabian Gulf Environment

Abstract

Corrosion performance of bare and galvanized mild steel in atmospheric, soil and splash zone exposure conditions was evaluated at a Khaleej Mardumah test station (KMTS) in Jubail Industrial City (JIC) located at Arabian Gulf coast. The samples were exposed for a period of 15 months. During the exposure, the environmental conditions were periodically monitored by analysis of air, soil, groundwater, and seawater samples. The corroded mild steel and galvanized steel samples were examined by SEM, XRD and XRF to identify the corrosion products and study their surface morphology. Weight loss method was employed to determine the corrosion rates. The experimental results showed that intense temperature and humidity variations as well as high chloride and sulfate concentrations in the region result in severe corrosion of bare mild steel especially under the splash zone conditions. A comparison with the corrosion data for other parts of the world shows that atmospheric and soil environments at the selected test site are significantly corrosive to mild steel. The splash zone, on the other hand, is much more corrosive to mild and galvanized steel than the other parts of the world.